Boards
one of the better invites that I've had lately:
Yes yes it's the annual Fab Cafe Christmas Pub Quiz!
An annual tradition started by the people of Manchester way back in 2005 the Christmas Quiz is as much a part of the fabric of the city as the town hall, the cotton trade, the ship canal or Bez.
2005 was a great first year for the quiz and like fellow Mancunian Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton it went from strength-to-strength and secured the world title via technical knockout. But th...e world title of quizzes, not of boxing.
Instead of becoming bloated, drug-addled and resting on it's laurels the quiz faught on and became leaner, meaner and...erm....Mr Sheener.
As we all know 2006 comes after 2005 and that was also dead, dead good. The quiz was honoured with the The Radio Times 'Best Pub Quiz Set In A Sci-Fi Themed Bar In Manchester On A Wednesday Night' award which was presented to the team by a visibly emotional Julia Sawalha (Ab Fab, Press Gang, Lark Rise to Candleford).
The Christmas Quiz in 2007 rolled around the corner, as usual in December, such was the tradition. It was a celebrity-laden affair with Polly Perkins of BBC1's highly successful international soap Eldorado in attendance. Paul Xenon also stopped in for a drink but didn't like the sound of the first few questions so nipped out for a cig and wasn't seen for the rest of the evening.
Impressed? You should be.
2008 was a dark year for the quiz. I shall not speak on't.
2009 saw the Fab Quiz go global in an attempt to right some of the terrible wrongs what are done in the world today - with trivia! There was of course the trip to Rwanda to try to ease tensions between the Hutus and The Tootsies (sp?) which received a surprisingly meagre amount of media coverage. There was a celebrity fun-run/pub quiz event in Uzbekistan in which the quiz duties were handed to over to TVs very own Bobby Davro. And who could forget the failed attempt to insert quiz questions into the Chinese governments opening of parliament which almost became a diplomatic shitstorm.
The 2010 Christmas Quiz promises to be a hum-dinger with the return of founder and host MC returning to the hotseat after an absence of nine months self-imposed exile.
There has a been a complete price-freeze on the entrance fee which remains £1 for adults/£1 concessions with the usual first prize of £30 (non-negotiable) cold gard cash, 8drinks for second place.
As usual EVERY TEAM THAT ENTERS WILL RECEIVE A PRIZE. Let me tell you, the looks on your faces when I hand you your prize make the hours of eye-smashing trawling of the internet for tidbits of knowledge in islolated darkness instead of being outside with sexy European babes sipping cafe lattes almost worth it.